


Mulan Rewrite

by Winder



Category: Mulan (1998)
Genre: Genderbending, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 17:25:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9335123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winder/pseuds/Winder
Summary: What would happen if Mulan actually were a boy? The rewrite of the story yaoi edition. Might be change to M in later ill going to be updated but will take some time. M/M





	1. Chapter 1

Summery: What would happen if Mulan actually were a boy! The rewrite of the story yaoi (BoyXBoy) edition.

Winder:This is not meant to be offensive to anyone and I love the fact that Mulan was a girl. This is just for fun people. No flames but conductive criticism is fine. Be gentle though this is only my second time.

Warning:This is slash/yaoi/maleXmale so if you don't like it then please leave.

Pairing:Ping/Shang, Ping/Shang Yu, ShanYu/Shang

Disclaimer:I do not own Mulan or any of the characters. This story is just for fun.

Mulan Rewrite

Chapter 1

The night was quiet and hot. There was stillness to the air as the faint noise of crickets could be heard off in the distance. The guard noted the calm weather as good luck as he walk down his section of the great wall once again. So far there had been no threat to Chain from the Huns, which was nice and allowed his wife to sleep peacefully knowing that her husband was in no danger. The guard smiled as he placed his hands by his sides. How lucky he was to have this job indeed.

A silent flapping noise made him frown as he looked around. The trees where pretty far away and there really shouldn't have been any birds flying at this time of night. Suddenly something slammed into the back of his head screeching out an inhuman noise as it ripped his hamlet from himand allowed it to clatter onto the stones beneath his feet. Confused by how fast everything went he felt the back of his head, which was now throbbing slightly in pain. He looked up to see a falcon perched on top of the Chinese banner as it let out another high pitch screech.

Now where had that bird come from? There was another sound in the wind, but it didn't sound like it came from any type of animal. It sounded more like… Clang! A grabbing hook hugged the side of the tough bricks. With fear rising in his chest he looked over the side only to see countless more flying towards the wall.

Reeling back he couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth in a sudden shout. "We're under attack! Light the signal!" he knew that on one could hear him but he prayed that someone would just in case he never made it to the signal. He made a mad dash over to the ladder, before he could reach it however two giant Huns came out the door with huge bloodthirsty smiles on their stretched across their faces. The guard froze at that, but only momentarily. He thought for sure they were going to cut off his legs as he flung himself up the flimsy pieces of wood that was his ladder. Not wasting what little time he had he made a mad scrabble up and tried to ignore the sound of the blades slamming stone.

His hands just managed to grasp to hard stone as the splintered wood fell from under his legs, leaving them to hanging uselessly in the air for just a single moment. Quickly hosting himself up he grabbed the torch from its place and turned to throw it into the gigantic bowl of oil. It was when he spun around that he froze.

Standing in front of him was none other then Shan Yu. The man looked like a demon, a child from the devil himself. He gasped as the falcon landed on man's shoulders but eyed the oil and raised his arm. He would light this signal not only to warn his country but his wife and children as well. He knew he was never going to make it home. He threw the flame into the bowl and it lit up swiftly. The guard panted as he watch Shan Yu looked over to watch as the other signals were lit and shouts were heard of their arrival.

"Now all of China knows you're here." He said holding his shoulders back and straight as he glared at the man with utter loathing.

Shan Yu seemed to ignore him at first as the Hun broke the Chinese banner off the wall easily and burned it over the singing flames.

"Perfect." Was all the devil said as he smiled at the guard seconds before he stabbed him over and over again with the burning pole.

((Can you guys all remember what happened at the place? The Emperor sent out conscription notices and told the general to protect his people, telling him that one man could tip the scales of this battle. So now lets get started!))

Ping opened his eyes and sat up abruptly. He had just had the weirdest feeling that something bad was going to happen. He wasn't really sure why but he knew that there was going to be something horrible happening today.

Sighing he pulled the blankets off himself and placed his bare feet on the cool wooden flooring. Reaching over to his side dresser he picked up his thick green ribbon and quickly tied his thick, shoulder length, hair up, keeping it out of his face. Yawning he sluggishly made it over to a small chest that sat at the end of his small room. Opening it he pushed around some clothing until he found what he would be wearing today. Knowing that his life was basically revolved around his martial arts training all of his clothing was light and easy to move around in.

"Ping, are you up yet?"Ccame the gentle voice of his mother as he finished tying his shirt in place.

"Yes Mother. I'll be out in a bit." He called closing the chest and walking over to his door. Sliding the door open he made his way down to their dinning room, covering his mouth as he yawned again and stretched his free arm back.

"You finally up hm?" His grandmother said looking up from her gamboling sheets on the table as he knelt down at his place nodding his head to his father. "I swear you get up later and later everyday. It's not good for young boys like you to get up late daily. Look at you, you're only the size of a girl."

"Grandmother!" Ping growled in warning, resisting the urge to slam one of his fists on the table. He knew he wasn't that big. He was actually really small for a boy and was no bigger then most of the girls in his village. Okay so he was basically the smallest person in his village but he couldn't help that! Not only that but just because he wasn't up at the brake of dawn like Grandmother Fa she was always accusing him of sleeping in and being lazy. It wasn't his fault that his Father made him stay up late to practice martial arts so that his mother and grandmother wouldn't know.

It made sense though, after all, as far as they knew, Ping wasn't even the child of Li Fa. He was the result of his father having an affair when he had been off to fight in a war and had only found out about Ping ten years ago when he'd gone out on another mission for the Emperor. Ping and his father were the only ones who knew that the story was a lie. Fa had found him after they had destroyed a Hun village, but he couldn't bring himself to kill the boy and so he had brought him back using the affair as a cover story.

Li Fa, bless her soul, had been really good about the whole thing. She had been upset for the first few years, as was to be expected, but as time wore on she had grown quiet attached to Ping and he to her. It was almost as if she really was his mother and he loved the woman to death.

As much as both her and his father were so welcoming and loving of him he found that he also could never forget that he had been the son of one of the generals of the Hun army, and that his real father had beat their training, and way of life into his head from a young age. Occasionally he could even still feel the sting of the burn that sat across his chest, the crest of his father, the crest of the Hun army.

"Ping, are you listening?"

Snapping out of his thoughts the boy turned to face his mother. She looked somewhat worried with her brows raised just a fraction and sipping on her tea silently, staring at him over the rim.

"Um, no sorry." He mumbled looking down at the table with the smallest of glares, if only to avoid the stare that he was getting from his father.

The man never did like the fact that Ping had a horrible habit of spacing out at all times of the day.

"I was asking if you are ready for the matchmaker today." Repeated Li Fa as she sighed, placing her cup on the table.

Ping would have smashed his head off the table top if it weren't for the fact that there was a bowl of rice sitting there. He hadn't even thought about the matchmaker. He didn't want to get married to some girl and be stuck having to take care of her for the rest of his life. He wanted someone who could take care of themselves and use their brain. Of coarse none of the girls he knew were like that, so his chance of finding the perfect girl was close to nothing.

"No." he said picking up his chopsticks and started on his breakfast. The looks that everyone shot each other didn't go unnoticed by him as he continued eating and tried to think of something to get himself out of it.

"Well you still have lots of time. You're lucky they do the girls first and then the boys or else you would never have enough time to think about which girl you want. The Su family has a nice looking daughter." Grandmother Fa chuckled drinking some of her tea and then going back to her rice.

'Probably can't even spell her own name.' Ping thought rolling his eyes at this whole matchmaker thing. It worked for some people but definitely not for him.

When his father stood up and picked up his cane everyone's attention was drawn upwards as the man stood tall before them.

"Ping, I must speak to you in the garden." Was all he said before turning around and limping out of the room.

Ping shot a nerves glance at his mother who nodded her head in her husband direction. Gulping Ping stood up and followed after his father.

They walked up to the stone bench that was place under the cherry blossom tree and took a seat. No words were spoken for a few moments and Father Fa took his time looking around his garden at all the beautiful things that grew there. Ping waited for the man to begin talking. When the silence drew on he couldn't stop himself from fidgeting with his fingers.

"Every blossom is beautiful this year, wouldn't you say so Ping?" He asked turning his head to look over at his son.

"Father?" Ping didn't get what blossoms had to do with anything. They were just some sort of pink flower, but they did kind of look pretty. If you had to look at them.

The man opened his mouth to speak again but a hollow drumming sound interrupted.

Ping spun around to see where the noise was coming from as Fa stood up with a stern expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" he questioned as he went to stand by his father knowing that, that noise couldn't be any good.

The sound of many horses were heard making the boy raise his brow in question. Fa ignored his question as he went over to the front of their estate in order to see who had entered their village. Ping once again followed after him and was shocked to see a man sitting on a tall, mean looking brown stallion with two imperial guards on white horses on either side of him.

"Citizen! I bring a proclamation from the Imperial City!" he yelled looking around through narrowed eyes as if he thought he was so much better then everyone else. "The Hun's have invaded China!"

Many gasps were heard and Ping watched as a mother ushered her little girl into their house. The Hun's! But why would they do that! The Hun's had been no threat to them for at least ten years why had they suddenly thought of coming back?

"By order of the Emperor one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army!" The long faced man explained looking around while waving a scroll in the air as if challenging some one to say something agents the Emperors adviser.

Ping growled slightly as he crossed his arms and glared at the man. Of cores he would have no problem sending young and old men off to war, he wasn't the one who had to fight and die in it. Being trained with a Hun mentality meant that Ping also held his traits differently. He chose survival over honor and at the moment he wish for nothing more then to tell the man to take a hike and leave the families alone. Sadly though loyalty was another one of those traits and although he might not have cared for this man or even the Emperor, his father did, and he held nothing but respect for the one who had raised him.

"The Hsiao family!"

A man stepped forward bowing his head and took his scroll with a hard-set look on his face.

"The Yi family!"

An elder man went to take a step forward however a younger looking man stopped him and stepped in front taking the scroll.

"I will server the Emperor in my father's place." He said as the older man behind him stuck his chin out in pride. Was Ping the only one who saw that the fear that was set in the young man's eye?

"The Fa family!"

Ping froze. That was his family. He turned to his side to see that his father placed his cane in his wife's hands. His father couldn't go! He would be killed if he went! The injury he had suffered from fighting for the emperor the first time had never healed and left him crippled! Thinking quickly Ping marched up and snatched the scroll.

"I will go in the place of my Father." He said stubbornly. He heard a gasp from his mother and grandmother and when he turned around he saw his father didn't look proud at all. Just the opposite actually and it made him nervous. His Father had warned him never to fight until he was trained in the way of the Chinese warriors. As it stood now his fighting, tactics and even his way of thinking were all based on the Hun way of life. If anyone were to find out that he was originally a child from the Huns he would be killed. However from the look on his father's face he might not be killed by anyone else.

They continued calling out names as he made his way back to his family. Lowering his eyes he passed them and dropped his shoulders when his Father looked away and his mother looked down.

"I'm not sorry Father." He whispered as he passed by the man and made his way into the house. He would have to pack his clothes and ask if he would be able to use the armor and sword of his Father. After all he had no idea if they were going to be giving that stuff out or if everyone was expected to bring their own.

There was nothing said between anyone at the table as they sat around it later that night. Grandmother Fa shifted her eyes back and forth between everyone lazily waiting for someone to say something as Ping looked down at the cup of tea his mother had poured for them all. He turned to his father and sighed.

"Father I'm…"

"What were you thinking Ping?" the man questioned sounding calm but with an edge of anger to his voice. Ping frowned at though words. What had 'HE' been thinking? He was thinking that he wasn't going to let his father enter into his certain doom!

"If I didn't say that then you would have to go. You would have been killed." He stated placing the facts right out in the open narrowing his brow.

"If you are found out then you will be the one to die." His father said glaring at Ping but keeping both of his hands on his teacup.

Seeing he would get nowhere the boy shook his head before looking down at the table again. "I need you're armor and sword." He said simply taking another sip of his tea.

"And you will not get it. It is my place to go fight for the Emperor. Not yours."

"You can't fight! You've already served the Emperor! Let me do it instead!" Ping shouted slamming his cup on the table and facing his father.

"It is my job to fight alongside other warriors. It is not your place to be there."

That hurt a bit. Knowing that he would never be able to truly fit with his father and not being able to fight in the same field made his stomach tighten and he shot up dashing to the door. How could his father do this to him? Deny him the right to help when all he wanted to do was protect his father.

Without saying a word Ping got up from the table and moved himself to the garden.

It was pouring rain outside, which he found refreshing as he placed his hand on the sturdy beam and tilted his head up to the sky. He only wanted to help and if he didn't then his father would be killed. He couldn't let that happen. No- he wouldn't let that happen. Turning to face the house again he saw the shadows of his parents as they seemed to be in some sort of argument before his mother walk away and his father blew out the candle.

Ping narrowed his eyes as he made up his mind. With quiet steps he made his way back to his house and to the area his Father used to train him. Walking up to the huge wardrobe that was pressed up against the side of the wall Ping placed both hands on either side of the dragons head and opened it up reveling the green colored armor that was there. Changing into it swiftly he picked up the sword last and held it in his hands. Was he really going to do this? Yes. Nodding his head once he attached the sword to his belt and moved over to his parent's room.

"Goodbye Mother and Father." He whispered looking down at them his eyes soften.

The rain was still pouring down from the heavens as he headed over to the barn and threw the doors open. Khan jumped back letting out a startled whinny when he saw the boy standing in his Father's armor. Not wanting to wake up his parents from the noise he ran over and soothed the scared animal until he was sure that he would no longer be any trouble.

Ping suited Khan up and walked the horse out to storm, jumping up on his back once they were a few feet away from the barn. Looking back one last time at his home before turning back to the gate. It was time for him to head to the Wu Zhong Camp.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

Looking at the gate with determination he shook the rains of Khan.

"Hyai!"

They burst through the doors and out into the storm towards his most certain doom.

Grandmother Fa shot out of bed with the most unnerving feeling. She didn't know how she knew but she was positive that Ping was no longer with them. Moving as quickly as she could she ran into her son's bedroom with a lantern to help her see.

"Ping is gone!" she announced loudly managing in startling them awake.

Father Fa sat up first still in a sleepy daze and looked around the room in confusion.

"Wha-." He mumbled before the words really hit him.

Grabbing his cane he ran to his training room. The place he had trained Ping in for most of his life. Heading over to his wardrobe he threw it open, his mouth falling agap when his worst fear was confirmed. His armor was gone.

"No."

Running out into the storm as fast as he could with his injury he shouted the name of his son. His leg gave out on him though and he crashed to the stone ground hard managing to hurt his side. Cringing as he sat up he looked out over to the gate doors that were swinging open and closed in the rough weather.

Li Fa ran up to him kneeling by his side as she gently grabbed his arm.

"What's wrong?" she asked wondering what was the matter with her son going to war in place of his husband since he would have no chance of living.

Fa knew he would have to tell her now or she would never understand what might happen if their son was found out.

"Ping is not the bastard child of a women I romanced during the war. He is a child from the armies of the Huns and was marked as such." He admitted dropping his head to look at the ground.

Two sets of gasps were heard as both the female's turned towards the gate.

"But he could be kill if they find out." She panicked as she tried to get up.

Fa graved her arm keeping her by his side.

"If I go there and try to take his place he will be."

Grandmother Fa dropped her head before looking up at the dark angry clouds in the sky with a deep frown set across her face.

"Ancestors please help us. Watch over Ping and keep him safe."


	2. Chapter 2

Mulan Rewrite

Chapter 2

Mushu growled as he headed down towards the giant rock that stood in its entire splendor seeming to mock him. This was so stupid. Why wasn't he allowed to go get this stupid Hun kid? It's not like it should take a lot of convincing, if the kid was apart of the Hun army originally then he shouldn't be to hard to outsmart. Of course Fa being the great guy he was just had to teach him everything… Mushu scoffed at that idea. A smart Hun, wouldn't that be the day.

However the ancestors had made it clear the 'The great stone dragon' was the only one who was aloud to go get the boy. After their long argument deciding if it would be worth going after someone who wasn't even truly their own they had made up their mind to send the dragon to go. It kept raising the question however of why Mushu couldn't do it? He was a really dragon no matter what anyone ever told him.

Muttering wordless curses to himself he stopped in front of the tall stone and sighed. Lifting the golden colored gong he smashed the thick-balled material against it and frowned when the dragon started to glow and was soon turning the color of a rich emerald green.

The dragon stretched out and let out a huge yawn before looking down at Mushu. "Why hello dragon drop out. What do you want?" He smirked before crossing his long arms over each other and sitting with his back curved in pride. "Want to try and learn something right for once? Well it wont work. You brain isn't capable of holding the information I have." He sneered like the stuck up snob he was.

Letting his shoulders drop even further Mushu wondered how the ancestors could have possible wanted to send this one. Sure he was basically all of the guardians put together but because of that he basically had all their ego's combine together too. Rolling his eyes in obvious annoyance Mushu crossed his arms with both the gong and stick in one hand.

"Great Stone dragon! Have you awaken!" The leader ancestor questioned in a deep commanding voice with much more respect then he had when speaking with Mushu.

Stone Dragon looked over in the direction the voice was coming from lazily before he slowly stood up on all fours and moved up on his hind legs so that they could see each other.

"Yes I am. What is it you need from me great ancestor?" He asked also with more respect then when he had talked with Mushu.

Mushu growled at that as he tapped his one foot impatiently. Those two were such posers it made him sick. If you didn't like someone then why would you act like you did? The leading ancestor never seemed to have a problem with showing Mushu that he hated him. It was the same with the stupid dragon.

"You must go forth and fetch Ping before he gets to the Wu Zhong Camp."

Mushu watched as the bigger dragon's eyes widen in shock. He was probably wondering why he should have to do something like that. Wasn't the younger male suppose to go to war and the father supposes to stay home? It was something that Mushu had been wondering to, that is until he found out that Ping wasn't really apart of their family and that he was from the enemy side no less. He knew how dangerous it was for the boy to be in a war area full of true Chinese men, if he was found out it could leave to his death. As much as Mushu couldn't be bother one way or the other the family had taken to the boy and with Li Fa being so barren he was likely to be the only one to carry on their name.

However since the great stone dragon was so perfect that he didn't question the elder ancestor at all and just nodded his head after a few hesitating moments.

"I shall go forth and fetch Ping." He said with confidence bowing his head in respect.

"Go! The fate of the Fa family rests in your claws." Mushu wished he were taller so he could see the ancestor but quickly turned his attention back to the Great Stone dragon when the emerald colored guardian dropped himself back on his four paws.

It took the dragon a minute or two but he eventually turned to face Mushu with question in his eyes. "Why am I going to get Ping back? He's old enough to enter war isn't he?"

"Well yes but that's not the problem." Mushu said nervously as he looked over to the side in order to avoid eye contact with the other. He didn't really want to be the one to tell the actual fire breather that one of their own wasn't blood related and from the enemy. From what he knew Great Stone dragon was very against anything outside the family, he lived to protect only the Fa, not outsiders.

"Then what is the problem oh demoted one?"

Mushu turned back to glare at him for a split second, clenching his hands into fist at his sides. It wasn't really his fault that he had accidentally lead to the beheading of one of their family members. Besides that had happened years ago! Couldn't everyone let that go already and give him at least one chance to prove himself again? Only one chance! That was all he was asking!

"He's a child of the Hun army." The tiny red one hissed throwing the gong over his shoulder and turning away from the other so he could head back to the temple.

A surprised gasp was heard and he couldn't help but look back over his shoulder. "What! But why! That is such a shame and dishonorable thing against the Fa family! How could he be trained in that horrible art! If you can even call it that! Why should I bring him back! If I went for him I'd go to kill him not save him!" Great Stone growled as the spikes on his back seemed to sharpen and his muscles seemed to tense up painfully.

That made Mushu concerned as he turned around once again and frowned. "I hope you're not serious." The ancestors picked one of the worse guardians that they could have. "You can't be having those thoughts about Ping if they're sending you to save him." He said in a disapproving manner. Why wasn't this guy…dragon looking at the good job opportunities to this! If he didn't want to do it then why couldn't Mushu?

However the sudden sinister smile made his scaling hot blood run cold and he found himself shivering. "Oh I'll do better then that. If I kill the boy then there will be no one left to dishonor the Fa family. Besides if that boy isn't really theirs no one will really miss him will they? They'll probably like the fact that he was out of their life's."

"What!" Mushu could not believe what he was hearing! This was even worse then he thought! "You are not going to kill Ping! Your mission is to bring him back safely!" he yelled chucking his gong at the other in rage.

"They'll thank me later for it. I know they will." The older one smirked as he caught the gong and crushed it easily. "Until I get back however you don't tell them anything."

Before Mushu could say anything the insane guardian fled and he was left standing in the dust. Not sure what to do he just stood there for a few minutes in total amazement. No matter what the great dragon said killing Ping wasn't going to help anyone and it would lead to a disaster! He bit his lip as he looked over at the temple. They were no doubt wondering what was taking him so long to get back but he knew that if he walked in then he would have to stay there and that would be the end of everything. Yes he could just leave it up to fate and have the stupid kid killed.

-But if he did save Ping would they give him back his job? Or what if he saved Ping and made the boy a war hero? Then they could get rid of Great Stone forever and Mushu would never have to listen to him again! Not only that but all the ancestors would have to listen to his every whim and never be mean to him again!

So maybe it was a good thing that Great Stone decided to go and kill Ping. It gave Mushu a shot to get back his pedestal! Well as long as he succeeded that is, if not well then…

Deciding not to think about it Mushu started off in the direction that he knew the other two had headed. This was going to be great!

(Pagebreak)

Ping gulped as he looked down at the sword hanging off his belt. It felt so wrong to have it showing itself proudly for all to see. Maybe he was only thinking that because of how it got there in the first place. He'd gone against his father's wishes and he'd stolen the man's armor and his sword. The very soul of a warrior. He'd just slipped into the room like some common thief and taken one of the most important things that Fa had.

"I'm sorry Father." He sighed once again taking out the sword and looking at it. Looking around to make sure that no one was looking Ping tried some of the moves that he had been beaten into him at a young age. It seemed to work fine but from what he had seen of his father's style they were a little bit different. He was sure it wouldn't matter if he was with a bunch of men who didn't know anything about it, but he really hoped that no one who could recognize the difference would be there.

He turned to look at Khan who had stopped and was resting under the cool shade of a tree at the moment. "I'm going to have to act as if I've never held a sword before." He grumbled crossing his arms as he thought about how he was going to do this. All of his swords training had become second nature so it was going to be hard to just drop it. "This is going to be tough." He sighed dropping his head before turning to face some low tree branches. Pushing them out of the way looked down at the training area that was litter with small one-man tents. There appeared to be hundreds of them and that only made the feeling in his stomach worse. "Oh. Who am I fooling it would take a miracle for me to fool all of them."

"Did I here someone ask for a miracle!" Shouted a deep booming voice that seem to come out of nowhere.

Ping jumped back before he spun around. His mouth fell open and his eyes went wide with both shock and fear. He was sure that he had been alone just a few moments ago.

What he saw though scared him even more then the thought that someone was there. There were two fires twice the size of him rolling out thick black smoke on either side of a tall rock that was a least fourteen feet high. That wasn't what scared him though. It was the shadow of a huge thin demon that had two rows of sharp teeth and what seemed like empty eye sockets.

"Let me hear you say 'aaah'!" The silhouette yelled lifting it's arms up in a powerful gesture of what Ping assumed was an attack.

"Aaah!" He yelled before dashing backwards and swiftly hiding behind a tall rock right next to Khan.

"That's close enough!" the demon said as he seemed to grow bigger for a moment, losing his legs before he pulled back and regained that small amount of height.

Only one thought came to Ping's mind as he looked over the rock with his horse in terror. This must be a spirit that couldn't find its way home and was now left to wonder through the forest scaring poor travelers to death. Well that was great.

"I think it's a ghost." He whispered to his horse not even understanding why he would bother telling his horse anything. It's not like the animal could respond to him anyway.

"Get ready Ping. Your serpentine salvation is at hand!" Now this was just getting weird. How did it know his name? "For I have been sent by your ancestors to guide you through this tough time." It said ending it's words with a wink making Ping quirk his brow in question. It seemed harmless. "So heed my word! 'Cause if the army finds out you're a Hun, the penalty is death!"

Like Ping didn't already know that. However the flames went up even higher then they already were and he pulled back some. Poking his head out more from behind the rock he waited until the flames died down before taking his chance at saying anything. "Who are you?" He asked being incredibly curious to now what the answer was. It wasn't everyday that he got to see a guardian from his ancestors.

"Who am I? Who am I?" the shadow asked pointing to himself dramatically as both Ping and Khan stood up no longer fearing for their lives from this unknown creature. "I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful! The pleasurable!" It said walking over to the sides as Ping smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so hopeless after all. Maybe there was some way he could do this! –But why did the thing seem to be getting smaller? "The indestructible Mushu." It said coming out from behind a rock with its hands raised in the air looking up at Ping as if he were some sort of idol.

The boy frown now in a fit of puzzlement, as he looked the- lizard?- up and down. It couldn't have gone up passed his knees and it didn't look ferocious at all. Ping couldn't even tell if their horns were a very light blue or purple but either way they didn't really look like horns at all, they looked more like another pair of ears. Its stomach was a golden yellow color while the rest of their body was either orange or red. He looked more like a stuffed animal made by one of the village women at home then a guardian. Well that was just great! Not! Ping needed something better then this little guy if they found out!

"Oh. Ha, pretty hot huh?" They asked taking Ping's silence as if the boy had been in awe. Khan quickly trotted over and stomped on the small talking animal with its eyes narrowed. He no doubt hated the lizard for scaring him like he had. Feeling bad for the small creature though Ping pushed his horse back gently until the bigger animal was backed off of his 'guardian'.

Mushu twitched and coughed out dust before he pushed himself up on his elbows. It seemed though that the only damage that he had received was a black eye and some out of the placed limbs. Confused as to how this thing was going to help him he crouched down and picked it up by the middle with two fingers.

"Uh, my ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?" He asked not believing it at all. He then dropped Mushu and poked the red scaly back with his index finger.

"Hey." Mushu growled turning around and slapping his hand away as he narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Dragon, dragon, not lizard. " he corrected as he crossed his arms. "I don't do that tongue thing." But then he stuck out his tongue and did it anyway making Ping want to laugh if it wasn't for the fact that he was worried for his safety.

The boy stood up leaning against a bamboo tree as he looked over to see Khan watching the small critter. "You're…" he started but was interrupted when Mushu slithered up one of the bamboos and elbowed his shoulder.

"Intimidating? Awe-inspiring?" He suggested with a smirk as Ping looked down at his fingers.

"Tiny." He stated matter of factually making a small gesture with his hand.

"Of course." The dragon shrugged looking over at the boy as if it wasn't hard to point out. Which it wasn't. "I'm travel-size for your convenience." He said managing in making Ping look up at him again.

However Ping didn't see Mushu where he last was and suddenly heard the voice from behind him.

"If I was my real size," he said puffing himself up before he turned to Khan and patted him on the head. "Your cow here would die of fright."

Ping chuckled when the horse went to go bit him while Mushu turned his full attention to him.

"Down Bessie. My powers are beyond your mortal imagination." The red dragon continued now switching sides on both Ping's shoulders and the bamboo to quickly for Ping to keep up with.

Following this lizard was making him dizzy. He was happy when Mushu finally stopped moving and stayed on one of the bamboo trees for longer then three seconds. "For instance, my eyes can see straight though your armor." He said waving his fingers in the air before looking down at the boy's body.

That caused slight rage to come out of nowhere and Ping punched Mushu knowing that he was being violated.

"Oohhh!" the dragon let out a pained yelp as he crashed to the hard dusty ground. Picking himself up Mushu rubbed his eyes and started walking around. Wondering if that was pushing it Ping bit his lip as he watched for the next move. "Alright, that's it!" Mushu yelled glaring at Ping. "Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow! Dis…" however Ping covered his mouth before he could continue.

"You know I don't really care much about the honor thing but it means a lot to my Father." Ping mumbled suddenly dropping his hands when he knew that the dragon wouldn't try any more dishonor things. "I'm sorry it's just that I've never done something like this before."

"Then you're going to have to trust me. -And don't slap me no more! We clear on that?" Mushu growled making Ping nod his head quickly. He didn't want to be alone in this and at the moment he'd take any help he could get. "Alright. Okee dokee Let's get this show on the road!" he yelled happily as f they were actually going to some place fun and not an incredibly hard training camp. "Lets move it heifer." He said to Khan causing the horse to snort in disgust.

Ping couldn't blame him. He wouldn't like being called a cow either. He turned to Khan as he stood up and they both shot each other unknowing looks. It seemed that fate really hated them but they might just be able to make it out all right.


	3. Chapter 3

Mulan Rewrite

Chapter 3

Ping gulped nervously as he looked around the corner of the towering, thick, wooden beans that surrounded the area. There was some men making swords, some carrying what looked to be bamboo-fighting staffs, and the rest looked like they had no idea what they were doing here. Ping was sure he would fit in with the lather pretty well but still, when he saw some of the men not wearing shirts and others taking their shirts off he began to worry. What if they made him take off his shirt when they were training and everyone saw that he was a ninja! Gulping he shook the thought from his mind as he felt the red scaled dragon moving around under his loose shirt.

"Okay, this is it. Time to show them what a man you are." He said enthusiastically pumping his fist in the air as Ping pulled back so he was leaning against the outer wall of the camp.

"I ama man." He sighed in annoyance looking at the tiny dragon from over his shoulder. Since they had started on their way to the front gate of the camp Mushu hadn't stopped talking about how he had to act manly and what not. Could he not see that Ping was a full-fledged man?

"I know, but boy you as delicate and feminine as they come." Mushu stated closing his eyes and placing his paws on his hips as if he knew best. That earned him a hard glare from the small male as he crossed his arms.

"I am not!"

"Look," Mushu said with what seemed to be boredom as he looked over at Ping. "Your walk is way to light for a man. You sound like a girl with your little pitter-patter of feet. If your hair weren't so short and up like that then anyone would mistake you for a girl and your size? Let's face the truth. You would make a bush look like a tree."

Well that was a little uncalled for. He wasn't that short. The highest bush had gone up to his shoulder but it was a big bush! Even his dad had commented on its unusual size. The thought of his father made Ping bite back whatever comeback he had for the guardian as he bit his lip and looked to the ground. If he didn't listen to this dragon he might as well would give up any hope of being able to fool them and start to dig his father's grave.

"Here goes nothing." He mumbled straitening himself out and walking around the wall into the camp. Mushu had dived back into his clothing and hid himself under the thick armor that made Ping look even tinier.

A black smith looked up form his work and scoffed in the boy's direction before going back to his own work letting his hammer shape the metal. Another man who had been carrying a sack of food most likely stopped and waited for Ping to walk by before continuing on his way. Ping glanced around the camp noticing that no one else was wearing their full uniform and he suddenly felt very foolish and out of place.

Walking down what seemed to be an endless lane of golden colored tents the boy glimpsed all sorts of men doing very casual things inside the cool shaded areas. He guessed that meant that the training hadn't started yet and knocked it off his list of things to be worried about. Now all he had to do was know what he was suppose to do. Randomly he ducked inside one of the many tents and was at once disgusted to see a man picking his nose with a stupid grin on his face. Mushu popped out by the gap of clothing on his neck and smiled brightly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked as they past another man picking out something from his toes using his chopsticks and a look of pure concentration on his face. He was never allowed to do this sort of stuff at home. It was for the respect of the ladies that lived in the house.

"They're disgusting." He gagged quickly ducking out happy to be away from them.

"No, they're men." Mushu corrected frowning at Ping. "Obviously you need to learn some things from them so pay attention." He finished forcing Ping to look forward instead of at the unsightly sight of the others.

They were greeted with another man ripping open his shirt and sticking out his chest in pride.

"Look!" he announced with a huge smile not seeming to mind that some of his fat was hanging over the sash of his shirt. Mushu once again hid in the armor leavening Ping momentarily. "This tattoo will protect me from harm."

He didn't seem to be talking to anyone specifically so Ping leaned over a bit to see the painted skin better. It was a picture of a long red dragon and it strangely reminded him of a more serious Mushu. Maybe if it really did protect him that would mean the Mushu would be able to protect Ping as well.

Two other men stopped to see what was going on and looked more bored then interested. One was very tall, standing a head higher then Ping, but he was so thin the boy wasn't sure if he would be able to fight at all. The other man was a whole lot shorter then Ping and that made him smile to know that he was taller then some people. However this man was also thick looking. Not so much as fat as beefy, and one of his eyes looked to be swollen shut in a black eye.

The smaller one turned over to look at his tall, lanky friend and they both shared a smirk.

"Hmm." The beefy one said placing a hand on his chin while the other hand rested on his bent knees keeping him balanced. Suddenly he spun around slamming his fist in to the center of the dragon and the chubby man's stomach sending him flying back and startling Ping.

What was that for? The other man had only been showing them something. If the men fought among themselves like this then when would they turn on Ping?

The skinny man busted out laughing as his friend gave him a triumphant smirk. The taller of the two pointed over to the guy still lying on the floor as his laughter strengthened.

"I hope you can get your money back!" He shouted as if the other wasn't close enough to be able to hear him from where he laid gasping for breath. He quickly placed a hand on the tougher ones shoulder, as he laughed harder still before they turned to leave.

"I don't think I can do this." Ping gulped out loud ignoring the growling of disapproval from Mushu. The dragon quickly appeared in his face again when no one was looking.

"It's all attitude." He hissed before Ping slammed his head back into armor that hid him so well from the wandering eyes. That was the last thing Ping needed, someone finding out that he had a dragon with him.

The short man snorted and spat out a wad of thick mucus onto the ground disgusting Ping further as he took a step back. If he ever did that his father would punish him severely. But then again he was going to enter into war so maybe he should stop thinking about what his father would want him to do and more on the fact that he should try and live for however long the war was going to go on for.

"What are you lookin' at?" the man asked with a gruffness to his voice that made him appear rougher then he already was.

Ping didn't say anything as he stepped back. He did not want to get on this guy's wrong side right off the bat. The man glared at Ping a moment longer before he looked away probably deciding that the boy wasn't worth talking to. Ping frowned at that; he didn't like to be written off like that either. Deciding to get his attention back he went to go pat him on the shoulder. However just at that moment Mushu moved and accidentally dug his claws into Ping's stomach. The movement caused the Ping to flinch and he ended up shooting his fist out, punching the guy in the back of the head and sending him flying into an incredibly huge man.

"Oops."

"Oh, Yao, you made a friend." He said gently lifting the man; now know as Yao, up as if he were a stuffed bear.

Honestly? This guy thought they were friends after he saw Ping punch him in the head? What type of men where in this camp? Was this how normal men interacted with each other? Ping hadn't hung out with people much, even when he was little, since his training took most of his free time. So maybe what he did was right?

The big man set Yao down again and he automatically spun on his heels grabbing at the tied bandanna around Ping's neck yanking him down to his level.

"I'm gonna hit you so hard, it'll make your ancestors dizzy." He hissed pulling his fist back.

He was sure if he wanted to he would have been able to get away from Yao and kick his butt, the problem with that though was that the last thing he wanted to do was to draw any more attention to himself. Ping waited for the hit to come but he was suddenly pulled back and the punch that was meant for him ended up hitting the tall skinny man.

"Oh, sorry Ling." Yao said sweetly as his friend collapsed before he turned to glare at Ping. "What's the big deal!" he growled.

Ping stiffened at the arm that was still around his shoulders and didn't dare to look over and see whom it was. He highly doubted that it was anyone from his village so that idea was ruled out but then why had they bothered to help him? His savior chuckled at Yao's question as the big fat man helped Ling up.

"I don't think this one will be worth much of your time. Besides the punch was done good naturally." The voice sounded deep but not in a bad way, it was also soothing sounding and reminded Ping slightly of a voice he had heard years ago. But 'good-naturally'? He hadn't done it on purpose but from how Yao had acted there was no way that men punched each other 'good naturally'.

It looked like the beefy man was going to say something or try and hit Ping again but his friend jumped at him, knocking Yao to the ground and beating with his fist and feet.

"You're dead!" Ling shouted.

Ping blinked in shock before he was dragged away from the fight. His eyes stayed on the fighters and the only reason he looked forward was because he almost tripped.

"Whoa, stay on your feet there."

Finally Ping looked up at the man as he ripped his arm away. The guy looked friendly and quiet good looking. With high cheekbones, dark eyes, a brood smile, and square jaw. He was also dressed in clothing much similar to Ping's but they where rich emerald green, with golden trimmings. He was probably a bachelor or already married.

He was smiling at Ping in a way a life long friend dose and it was making the poor boy uncomfortable. He didn't like the fact that this guy was being so friendly but then again he wasn't in much of a position to pass up friends. After all that's what he would need on the battlefield.

"Um, thanks, for saving me back there." He said rubbing the back of his head awkwardly looking down at his feet. What was he suppose to say?

"Oh it's fine. My names Chu by the way, what's yours?" Chu asked as he stopped walking for a moment making Ping stop too.

It had been quiet awhile since Ping had, had to introduce himself to anyone so he hesitated before bowing slightly.

"I'm Fa Ping." When he looked back up he was surprised to see a dark look on the others face. The smile looked evil and his eyes seemed to glint with some unknown emotion. The look quickly passed over though and soon he was bowing back.

"Nice to meet you Fa Ping."

An abrupt motion made Ping jump out of the way before the three other soldiers tackled him. Taking that to his advantage Ping jumped into one of the many golden colored tents, hearing a holler of, "Oh! There he goes!" Once he was in the tent he hid against the fabric that was right beside the door. All three men zipped in and out quicker then he thought they could run.

Ping had a huge grin on his face as he pushed out the tent flap that the others had just went though, watching as they foolishly ran full on towards the line for rice. Yao managed to stop just inches away from hitting one of the men, Ling stopped on a dime and had to curve away so that he wouldn't run into Yao and knock him over. The huge man whom Ping still didn't know the name to stopped but his stomach hit Ling gentle. Ling wasn't balanced enough since he was on his toes and went crashing into Yao, who knocked over the man in front of him. It started a domino effect and man after man fell until the last man slammed into the enormous bowl of rice spilling it everywhere.

Ping's mouth fell open as the scene played out in front of him and watched nervously as everyone picked themselves up. Some were groaning and others were rubbing the new bruises that they had just gotten. It didn't take long for them all to connect the mess to Ping and soon they were marching their way over to him, Yao looking ready to rip him limb from limb and Ling even had a sword.

"Hey, guys." Ping chuckled nervously backing away with his hands in the air. This could not end well. He could only imagine what they were going to do.

(pagebreaker)

General Li sat down with his legs crossed in front of him as he look at the thin map that lay before him using his horse whip to move the small tokens around the parchment. His son watched intent on knowing everything he could to show he was a good leader.

"The Huns have struck here, here, and here." He said, both of them ignoring the Emperor's adviser as he walked through the tent flap.

It was depressing to see how much the Huns had already taken over in such a short time period. They would be hitting more villages soon and Shang wanted to be there to protect them.

"I will take the main troops up to the Tung Shao Pass and stop Shan-Yu before he destroys this village." General Li stated hitting the map hard then lifting his whip up to rest in his lap.

"Excellent strategy, sir." Chi-Fu said with a wide smile as Shang looked over at him completely unimpressed. The man was such a suck up. "I do love surprises." He chuckled, his voice high pitched and annoying. Now Genera Li was also looking at him and it caused the annoying man to frown as he looked up from his ever-present writing board.

They went back to their conversation disregarding the others comment.

"You will stay here and train the new recruits."

Shang sighed slightly but sat up straighter.

"When Chi-Fu believes you're ready, you will join us. Captain." The youngest man's mouth gaped open at these words as his father handed him the sword that had belonged to the older man since before he could remember.

Shang's eyes lit up with excitement as he took the sword from his father's hands and he couldn't stop the grin that was spreading on his face. "Captain?" he questioned at the sudden promotion as he looked down clutching the weapon in his hands.

Chi-Fu gasped in shock as he looked at the older man with concerned eyes.

"This is an enormous responsibility, General." He said with a fake grin and a panicked tone. "Perhaps a soldier with more experience…"

"Number one in his class, extensive knowledge of training techniques, an impressive military lineage. I believe Li Shang will do an excellent job." General Li said with a smile resting his head in his hand as Shang's face lit up even more with all the praise he was receiving from his father.

"Oh I will!" he said happily as his breathing picked up a little bit in excitement. "I wont let you down. This is… I mean…" noticing that he was acting to happy and immature Shang cleared his throat and sat back up straight. He hadn't even noticed that he had been leaning forward. "Yes, sir." He said using a deep serious voice as he raised the newly given sword and bowed his head.

General Li rocked himself forward, grabbing his other sword before getting up on his feet.

"Very well. We'll toast China's victory at the imperial city." The balky man said with a confident smile as he stood up holding his helmet in his other hand. Finally he turned his attention to Chi-Fu who was holding open the flap of the tent for the high-ranking officer. "I'll expect a full report in three weeks." He ordered motioning to the man with his horsewhip.

As he walked out into the sunlight Chi-Fu turned and glared at Shang with loathing.

"And I wont leave anything out." The man hissed before he too walked out.

Shang shrugged it off though. Nothing at this moment could destroy his mood. He had just got promoted and praised by his father all at once. Something like that had never happened before and he couldn't believe it. Now that the older men were out of sight he let a huge grin slip on his face as he tied the sword onto his belt. "Captain Li Shang." He muttered looking down at the new weapon in his hands. "Hmm." Chuckling he imagined people calling him that from now on. He liked the sound of that. "Leader of China's finest troops. No. The greatest troops of all time!" he chuckled again spreading out his hand as if the words were going to follow from the tips of his fingers.

As he went to go open the flap he let the frown slip back onto his face to hide his pleasure. But he didn't have to fake it for long. Once outside he saw his 'greatest troops of all time' beating each other to a pulp using anything they could get their hands on with rich covering the ground like newly fallen snow.

His mouth fell agape as his father placed his hamlet over his head. All three of them looked bewildered as one of the soldiers came up to them and saluted with a huge tooth-missing smile before he fainted head first to the ground. General Li smirked over at his son and then stepped over the fallen man.

"Most impressive." Chi-Fu sneered in disgust holding his clip bored to his chest. Shang rolled his eyes and lifted his arms up slightly still in too much shock to know what to do. The General climbed on to his white horse as the animal whinnied and turned his head in the direction of the opening of the camp. "Good luck, captain. Hyah!"

Shang watched in astonishment as the imperial army stamped off leaving him with all the inexperienced soldiers and only three weeks worth to train them.

"Good luck," Shang mumbled still watching as the last of the men disappeared into the distances. "Father."

Taking a deep breath he turned back to the yelling and screaming of the new men resting his hands on his hips. Chi- Fu smirked as he held up his clipboard jotting down something quickly with his ink pen.

"Day one." He said smugly.

Shang shot him a quick glare before marching up and stopping only a few feet in front of the gigantic fight.

"Soldiers!" He shouted getting their attention quickly as they all seemed to freeze in mid motion. In a flash they all moved out of the way showing two men standing back to back. They appeared to have been fighting off anyone who came close until Shang had called.

"He started it!" They all shouted together like a little boy ratting out one of their siblings.

There was a flash of something red near the smaller ones neck and for a moment Shang feared he had been hurt, however in the next second it was gone. Shaking it off he approached the two men with Chi-Fu in tow.

"I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp." He growled getting in the face of the smaller one making the boy lean back slightly. The captain was actually surprised how small the boy seemed to be. He couldn't have been any older then seventeen nineteen, he seemed too young and innocent for this war, and the new training program Shang had planned.

"Sorry." The boy mumbled wincing slightly at the glare he was receiving as his eyes seemed to give him a somewhat puppy dog look. "But you know how it is when you've got a bunch of tough guys together." He chuckled nervously punching Shang gently in the arm.

Both Shang and Chi-Fu shot him an unimpressed look making the boy nervous. Shang thought it was somewhat cute. Whoa, wait. He did not just think that. Erasing said sentence from mind.

What's your name?" he questioned, once again getting in the others face.

"Um, a…" the smaller boy stammered as he stared playing with his fingers slightly.

"Your commanding officer just asked you a question!" The adviser shouted at him making Shang switch his glare from the boy to him before going back to the boy. Chi-Fu was just going to prolong the name giving at this point.

"It's Ping." The boy piped in quickly flinching away from, at least what Shang thought, the smell of the annoying man's breath.

"Sir we did not mean any harm. It was just a misunderstanding." Ping's comrade said placing his arm in front of the smaller boy and moving in between them as if protecting him. "I assure you we are very sorry." Shang moved his gaze to the man who stood at his height and glared at him. The other man glared back defiantly flaring some of Shang's anger.

"And you are?" he questioned harshly wanting the man to move out of the way.

"Chu."

Walking around the two troublemakers Shang watched Ping as he stood at attention with the rest of the men before turning his attention to them all.

"Okay, gentlemen, thanks to your new friends, Ping and Chu, you'll spend tonight picking up every single grain of rice." He watched some of the soldiers winch at every word he said last and he smirked inwardly. His Father would be proud. "And tomorrow!" he said as they straightened themselves out again. "The real work begins." With that he walked away ignoring the growls that seemed to be shot at the two standing in the middle.

This was going to be tougher then he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Mulan Rewrite

Chapter 4

Ping scanned the area around him as he gulped loudly. He couldn't see anything in any direction and there was absolutely no noise. It was as if he was in a dark abyss with no source of light anywhere. The only noise was of himself breathing and his heart as it slammed against the cage of ribs holding it in.

What was going on? Where was everyone?

"Hello?" his voice sounded empty and hollow, but it echoed out over the nothingness like a war drum. Why was no one answering? Uncertain of what to do Ping placed one of his feet forward but it sunk down to his knee cap. The sudden off balanced movement made him topple over and descend further.

It was thick and watery, but it didn't feel like anything he had ever swam in before. A light came out of nowhere lighting up the area and Ping screamed. As far as the eye could see there was white, sticky,…rice!

"No!"

Jolting awake Ping panted looking around frantically for any signs of the fowl grain anywhere. After spending hours the day before picking up what seemed to be an endless supply of white rice the boy never wanted to see it again, or at least for a couple of weeks.

"Finally awake sleeping beauty?" Mushu mocked with a smirk as Ping looked over at him. Seeing that he was safe Ping yawned sitting up and stretching his arms.

Squinting his eyes open he could just see the sun in the sky willing people to get out of bed. Being more of a night person by nature Ping grumbled and flopped back down on his thin bamboo mat pulling his blanket over his head. It was way to early for him to be up.

"Come on! Hup! Hup! Hup!" Mushu yelled way to happy first thing in the morning as he pulled the blanket off the boy's barely clothed body. Ping shivered curling his body into himself as he groped blindly for the missing article. "Get your clothes on! Get ready!"

"Leave me alone." The young male grumbled screwing his eyes shut. Why was the guardian being so irritating first thing?

"Got breakfast for ya!" Mushu put in even loader. Deciding to end his ear's suffering Ping once again sat up rubbing his eyes with both his hands and trying his hardest to suppress a yawn. He felt a tiny weight on his leg and knew that Mushu had perched himself there. "Look, you get porridge," the red-scaled dragon chirped as Ping sleepily took a glance at the bowl. As long as it wasn't rice he was sure anything would do.

A small smile crept on his lips when he saw two eggs used as eyes and a single strip of bacon used as a smile.

"And it's happy to see you."

"Am I late?" He questioned seconds before a chopstickful of porridge was shoved in his mouth.

Mess making it out of war alive, he'd be lucky to survive breakfast.

"No time to talk." Mushu put in quickly shoving yet another chopstickful in his mouth. "Now remember it's your first day of training. Listen to your teacher and no fightin'. Play nice, unless one of the other kids wanna fight. Then you have to kick the other kid's butt." The guardian finished with a smile pointing at the boy with the chopsticks.

"But I don't wanna kid the other kids butt. They hate me enough already." Ping said trying to talk through two mouthfuls of food without choking. Mushu turned back to him with a frown placing a hand on his hip as he did so.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." He scolded lightly. Leaning back holding out both the bowl, still mostly filled with porridge, and the chopsticks he smiled. "Now let me see your war face." He ordered.

Ping just sat there with his cheeks puffed out from being stuffed with such a large amount of food. He couldn't really move his face into any other different look without having to spit the food out. And food was something he wanted since all the soldiers had missed dinner the night before.

Mushu rolled his eyes putting on his sarcastic face, something Ping was getting well acquainted with. "Oh I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover." The puny dragon mumbled, completely unimpressed. He threw the objects behind him grabbing Ping's shirt with his clawed hands as the boy swiftly gulped down his quick breakfast. "Come on scare me boy!" he shouted glaring at Ping with his teeth pressed together.

Not really knowing what to do Ping just clenched his teeth together, pushed himself forward, and growled much like a tiger. It caused Mushu to go flying back into the bowl spilling the remnants all over the mat. Even so the dragon's face lit up as he smirked back.

"Yeah! That's my tough-lookin' warrior!" he praised flinging the bowl off his head and jumping up on Ping's shoulders. Faster then the boy thought was possible he had Ping's hair pulled back up in a neat, tight bun. "Now get out there and make me proud!" Mushu encouraged holding the boy's head in his claws as Ping struggled to put his shirt on.

The neighing of Khan made both of them turn to see the black stallion looking inside the tent with slightly narrowed eyes. He snorted, pawing at the ground as Ping slipped on his pants. Khan seemed to be telling Mushu something of importance so the boy ignored them and continued at his own pace.

"What do you mean the troops just left?" Mushu questioned making Ping zone in to what they were saying. The troops just left! How could they leave without him?

Grabbing the rest of his clothes Ping threw on everything in haste, trying to get out of his tent at the same time. It resulted in knocking the badly set up tent over and trapping him and Mushu inside.

Trying to get out quickly Ping pushed randomly at all the material he could get his hands on. Abruptly it was ripped out of his hands and over his head making him freeze momentarily in shock.

"Having some trouble Ping?" Chu chuckled seeming to be amused by the others clumsiness.

"Um, ya." The younger male mutter quickly looking around for any sign of his little guardian. He finally understood what Mushu meant about 'travel size for your conveyance'. If he had been any bigger Chu would have seen him and freaked.

A hand was placed in front of him and Ping just stared at it before taking hold of it sheepishly.

"Thanks." He chuckled hosting himself up on his feet. At least he had one friend here. He wasn't sure he could handle facing the whole army of angry men alone. It was a pretty scary thought.

"No problem, your fun to look after anyways." Chu said with a casual shrug. Before Ping could ask him what he meant by that Chu continued.

"I noticed that you weren't at the camp breakfast with the rest of the men this morning so I figured you were still tuckered out from the rice picking. Have any nightmares about rice last night?"

"Ya, I did actually." Ping said as they walked past the pig's mud bath. It was pretty sad but Ping had been one of the last to arrive so he had to go 'pitch tent' by the pigpen. It wasn't that bad but it did smell.

Chu laughed at his answer throwing an arm around Ping's shoulder. "I did too." He admitted as they fell into the long line of men already in the middle of camp.

Ping winched as he noticed the three men he had met yesterday standing right beside them goofing off with each other. Maybe they would just ignore him, after all yesterday had been an accident and it wasn't like Ping had pushed them into the gigantic rich bowl. Seeing as how they didn't noticed him yet he stood beside Chu, nervously biting his bottom lip.

The adviser, who had been to Ping's village, walked beside the line holding his ever-present board. That made the boy wonder if he ever put it down or maybe he slept with the thing beside him. Either way it never seemed to be anywhere other then his hands. Same with the ink brush. He must have ink stored in the wooden part of the brush or something since it never seemed to run out of ink.

He tapped on his board looking at the men goofing around with distaste. "Order. People. Order." He yelled out as if he was so much better then everyone else, but barley catching anyone's attention.

One of the men that did hear him was sitting on the shoulders of his bulkier friend as he raised his hand in the air.

"I'd like a pan-fried noodle." He shouted catching the attention of more of the troops as they started laughing. Ping chuckled at that too as he turned to face Chu.

"We wont be having any of that for a long time." Chu said crossing his arms with a serious look on his face. Noticing Ping was watching him he turned and smiled. "But maybe we can sneak out to one of the close villages and get something once and a while." He suggested throwing an arm around the younger boy.

"Oh!" the big man that Ping had met yesterday exclaimed throwing his hand in the air. "Sweet and pungent shrimp!" He said happily causing everyone to uproar.

"Moo goo gai pan." Another called as the men were slapping each other on the back. It seemed that bugging the snaky man was going to be their only source of entertainment from here on out.

Chi-Fu through his arms down in an angry manner screwing his eyes shut in disapproval.

"That's not funny!" he shouted walking away. One of the men started to make what sounded like a donkey and Ping had to agree. That guy did seem like a jackass.

Ling turned in his laughter and caught sight of Ping. The boy automatically stopped chuckling when he noticed this and prayed that nothing would happen to reveal his secret.

"Look who it is guys. It's our new friend Ping." He scoffed whacking Yao on the back of his thick head to get his attention. Everyone then turned their attention to the boy making him nervous. He quickly wondered if there was any trick he could learn to be able to have eyes on the back of his head in case any of them decided to stab him in the back. "Hello Ping." Ling said with sarcastic happiness as he placed his arms behind his back circling to be in-between the young ninja and Chu. "Are you hungry?"

Ping was silent for a second as he thought about it. He wasn't really hungry, most likely a lot less hungry since Mushu had fed him breakfast this morning. Come to think of it where did Mushu get the food? Drawing himself from his thoughts Ping smirked as he thought of the perfect come back. He pointed his finger at Ling but before he could get any words out Yao grabbed the open part of his shirt and yanked him down some.

"Yeah, 'cause I own you a knuckle sandwich." He growled pulling his hand back. Ping didn't know what else to do so he covered his face with his hands hoping that when this war was over he could at least get even. Then again they kind of deserved to be angry with him.

"Soldiers!" Shang yelled making Yao stop inches away from hitting Ping and possibly breaking his nose.

(Pagebreak)

Shang would be lying if he said he didn't love the way his men quickly scurried into a straight, crisp line. He almost laughed when he saw the small boy, Ping, standing in between the gigantic Chien-Po and the incredibly built Chu. It made the boy seem even more kiddish and out of place. For his reputation though he kept his face straight as he walked down the line of every type of size, and shape man this country had to offer.

He took off his white robe that he had been wearing, hanging it on one of the many wooden bamboo staffs that were placed in a huge clay bowl.

"You will assemble swiftly and silently every morning." He commanded, not able to help noticing that Ping had stuck his head out from around one of the man's chest so he could see what was going on.

Cute.

Whoa, no. Shang had been telling himself that all night, but it seemed to be harder to do when the young soldier was actually there.

"Anyone who acts otherwise," he said picking up the cloth bag of arrows and throwing it over his shoulder as he picked up the wooden, glossy bow. "will answer to me." He stated walking back down the line of men and he just happened to glance in Ping's direction, not purposely of course, seeing how big his eyes were.

"Ooh. Tough guy." Yao said sarcastically seeming unimpressed at what Shang had to say.

Not wanting to let his men get out of control so quickly Shang spun around, arrow and bow at the ready. He took aim at the man as the rest of his soldiers took a step back in unison. Even Ping seemed to get the idea.

"Yao." Shang said pointing the arrow at the short bulky man. Yao's face was a mix of bewilderment and fear, as if he thought Shang was going to really shoot him. Instead however Shang raised the target to a tall wooden beam in the middle of the camp. Letting the arrow go he watched as it soared through the sky and sunk deeply into the wood. "Thank you for volunteering." Shang smiled as he place the bag of bows by his feet and put the bow down. "Retrieve the arrow." He commanded.

Yao shot him a dirty look but bowed and cracked his knuckles at the same time.

"I'll get that arrow, pretty boy," He grumbled heading to walk towards the beam, "and I'll do it with my shirt on." Yao rubbed his hands together as he walked the rest of the way up the arrow.

Shang didn't let the comments bother him as he followed behind the short man. Yao could say anything he want but that wouldn't change the fact that Shang was his leader and that the beam was a lot taller then it looked. He waited until the man was ready to jump on the wood before he spoke up.

"One moment. You seem to be missing something." Shang turned and opened the box that he had ordered Chi-Fu to bring to him.

Inside the box were two golden circle shaped weights that weight at least seventy pounds each. Shang took them out easily, he'd been using these weights for about a year now and it didn't bother him much. Taking one of Yao's arms he tied the weight to his wrist using the strong, black cloth that went through the middle of each weight.

"This represents discipline," he said loudly so all the men could hear him as he lifted Yao's arm in the air. When he dropped the man's arm it went straight down, clunking as it hit the soft soil. "and this represents strength." This time he was lifting more of the weight since he had to hold both Yao up and the 'strength'. Yao looked back and forth between the ground and the golden object before Shang let go of it letting him drop with a solid 'thud'.

Yao's friends, Ling and Chien-Po were chuckling at their friend's luck. Ping on the other hand was looking back and forth between them biting his lip nervously. The kid wasn't stupid obviously. Chu threw an arm around his shoulders though catching the boy's attention and gave him a reassuring smile. This made Shang want to draw the attention back to him.

"You need both to reach the arrow." He glared as he watched Chu. The man just smirked at Shang in what seemed to be a challenging way. Deciding to turn away before he made it to obvious Shang turned back to face Yao.

Yao on the other hand looked mortified, as he seemed to just then notice how high the arrow really was. He narrowed his eyes throwing himself at the ex-tree and managed to make it up a couple of inches. However just like Shang predicted, the weight started to slid him back down to the earth. Trying in vain to keep himself up there he dug his teeth into the wood only making a huge indent in the wood as he slid back down.

When Ling tried he didn't make it up nearly as far and fell down head first with his feet in the air landing awkwardly on his neck.

Chien-Po made it up quiet a bit but fell down flat on his butt making the beam jump in place and shook a few men off there feet. Shang was pretty impressed when Ping didn't even waver.

Ping on the other hand didn't make it up very far at all and he also landed on his butt. It was kind of cute though. He reminded Shang of a child who had just been playing in the dirt.

Chu made it up the highest and it looked like he could go higher, however he let go and fell gently back down on his feet, walking right behind his friend.

"Nice try Ping." He chuckled once again throwing his arm around the boy's shoulder as they passed Shang.

Shang would have seen that as another challenge if he wasn't so concerned about the shape his 'greatest troops of all time' were in. Rubbing the back of his neck he sighed knowing he was going to have to make their training even harder.

"We got a long way to go." He mumbled glad Chi-Fu wasn't there to write down his own doubts of his own military troops.


	5. Chapter 5

Mulan Rewrite

Chapter 5

"Alright men." Shang called out as he took one of the many staffs out of a large jar that had been placed off to the side.

Ping found his eyes unable to stop themselves from being glued to the man in front of him. He had a feeling that he wasn't making the best impression in the world, but he guessed that maybe that was for the best. The less that he stuck out to anyone the less of a chance of them finding it out about him. He would just have to aim for mediocre. Good enough to get by, but not good enough to draw any more unwanted attention.

Without another word Shang stuck one end of his staff at a time into the handles of two clay pots. Ping watched as he threw them into the air and than, with flawless form and quick movements, he smashed them both to pieces. Now if that hadn't been something that Ping had been practicing basically since birth, he probably would have been just as impressed and slacked jawed as the rest of them.

"Let's get down to business."

As the words came out of his mouth Ping felt a slight blush come to his cheeks as his lips pressed into a tight line. He didn't know why Shang had locked their gazes together when he'd said that, or why on earth they sounded so suggestive at the moment, but it did. When their 'leader' refused to break eye contact Ping found that he couldn't break it either. It was odd, but he felt as if he did he'd be giving up something, he be backing down from a challenge, and he'd never been known to do so in all of his life.

He was somewhat proud of himself when Shang had to be the first one to look away in order to grab at some of the others staffs. A moment later and he felt like kicking himself all over again. So far he wasn't doing a very good job at 'fading into the background'. It wasn't like it was his fault though, he just didn't do well with submission.

When their captain turned back to them his eyes narrowed sharply as he gazed over the long line of men waiting to be turned into soldiers.

"I want you to line up in rows of six each, keep an arms length between yourselves if you want to avoid injury." He called out over his men, his eyes watching carefully as they moved into place.

Ping silently slipped into the middle of the crowd. Hoping against hope that this would help him blend in just a little bit more.

"You sure this is the best place for you?"

Ping nearly jumped at the sound of Chu's voice, he'd almost completely forgot about the other. With a small smile he shook his head before responding.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

He knew that the outside was what people normally looked at. The one's standing in front or at the very back and even on the sides. It was the people that were standing in the middle that normally drew the less attention. They were just a blank slate in a sea of faces, one blending into the next until people couldn't pick them apart anymore. It was like disappearing right before someone, and that's what Ping wanted.

"Well," Chu whispered as Shang started to yell out some rules, "you just put yourself in the middle of a group of people who aren't all that fond of you at this current moment."

Oh. Righttt.

"Oops."

Before he had time to move, maybe even somehow squirm his way to the back, Shang had started to toss the staffs in his hands out to he others. Well, that hadn't been to much of a smart move on his part.

He reached out, ready to catch the staff that had been thrown in his direction. Seconds before it could reach his fingers however Yao stuck his hand out and snatched it. Placing his hands on his hips Ping glared at the man, a sharp insult on the tip of his tongue. He had no chance to say anything, at least not before the staff that was supposed to be his was swept under his feet and knocked him down to roughly fall on his back. Ping gasped as the air left his lungs and held back a growl as he looked up at the stocky man. Yao on the other hand simply looked away nonchalantly and tossed the weapon at his feet as if he'd never touched it in the first place.

"You okay?" Chu asked, holding out a hand to help the boy up while Shang got into position.

"Yup." Ping sighed, taking the hand and allowing himself to be pulled up.

Quickly he scooped up his staff and turned his eyes towards the front. He really hoped that, that was going to be the last of it.

"To defeat the Huns," Shang called, bringing any mummer chatting to an end, "we will need to improve your fighting skills in every aspect."

Ping followed along as all of the men pushed their bo staffs out before them with a sharp war cry. Not even seconds later and he felt the slightest tug at the collar of his shirt. Choosing to just ignore it he tried to focus all of his attention on the man before them. He was going to be their leader, the one that they would look for direction in battle. He wanted to be able to memorize everything this man had to say.

All of those thoughts were cut short when he felt something drop down the back of his shirt.

The feeling of tiny little legs and pincers scratching along his back made his nerves twitch. That was unfortunate for everyone around him. Every time the thing moved his body jerked, his staff being shoved into the limbs of the people beside him. Chu seemed to be the only one who managed to duck out of the way and take a step out of the boy's reach.

No one noticed Shang moving until he was flipping over their heads and landing almost soundless on the balls of his feet before the boy.

Not realizing how close he was Ping swung the end of his staff straight into his leaders stomach. Just as he was about to hit him again Shang managed to duck and before he could swing again the staff was ripped from his hands. Feeling the creature that had been the cause of it all slip out the back of his shirt and down to the grass below.

He pulled back, flinching away from the man when Shang got right into his face and growled at him. Shang didn't see to agree on the space that Ping put between them as he grabbed a fistful of the boy's shirt and yanked him so close that their noses were almost touching.

"This isn't play time for boy's Ping." Shang growled as his dark eyes narrowed at the young male before him. "By the end of my training you'll learn to be a man."

Ping didn't get a word out as the staff was shoved back into his chest, hard enough to almost steal the air from his lungs and send him staggering back a few steps. It was not going to be as easy to blend in as he had thought at first. He was making a bad case of 'stupid soldiers' and he knew that those were the ones that these guys were trained to look for. After all in a team you were only as strong as your weakest link.

This wasn't going to be easy...

The next training exercise that they moved on to was arrows. Ping watched as Shang stepped on the edge of a plank and pierced through every beet that flew in the sky. He found himself to be a little more impressed when each of the arrows hit there mark right on without an inch to spare. He knew from experience how hard that was.

"Okay, you've got this." Mushu said as he slid down Ping's shirt and stole one of the beets. Ping didn't even get a moment to object before the dragon slipped back out again and placed the beet on the end of his arrow.

It seemed that just than Shang came over to check on how he was doing and Ping could only smile sheepishly at the sight he knew he was giving off. Really there couldn't have been a worse time for Mushu to do that, especially since he didn't need it.

Shang didn't wait to hear any of his excuses as he tore the arrow from the boy's grip and quickly snatched the red vegetable from the end.

"Cheating isn't going to get you anywhere." He grumbled, dropping the item back into Ping's hands.

"I wasn't..."

The beet was shoved into his mouth before he could finish, keeping him silent as Shang stormed off to check on some of his other men.

Ping didn't waste any time in spitting the item out and rubbing at his mouth with the back of his hands. He hated beets! They were the worst!

"Not very friendly is he?" Chu chuckled, already working on firing his fifth perfect shot.

"He's the teacher. They're not supposed to be." Ping grumbled as he glared at his own empty targets.

Moving on to the next exercise Ping wanted to groan as they found themselves on the edge of a steep cliff. Well this sure seemed safe. He watched carefully as Shang placed a bucket of water on his head with his staff in his hands. All around him the men had been instructed to pick up rocks that they could either find or that had been brought up. Ping passed on the opportunity however as did Chu in favor of just watching the exercise.

They didn't go one at a time, instead seeming to move at random and throw the rocks that they had almost all at once. Ping watched closely as Shang blocked each one, the sound of the stone hitting the wood making a soft thud with every touch. He was finding himself to be more and more impressed with this guy as the day went on.

"We got this in the bag." Mushu whispered from behind him.

"Did you say something?" Chu asked, turning to face the boy with a raised brow while Ping waved his hands out in front of him.

"No! Nope I didn't..."

"Ping." Shang called, making the boy freeze mid wave. "Thank you for volunteering."

"What?"

Chu chuckled as he placed a hand on the boy's lower back and gently pushed him forward, as if he was sending the boy off to class rather than a deadly assault of rock throwing.

Stumbling up to his general Ping just managed to straighten himself out while Shang dropped the bucket on his head. Quickly reaching a hand up to keep it from falling off Ping found his face flushing slightly as the older man once again brought himself in close.

"Don't get yourself killed."

Feeling a small flare of anger at that Ping held out his free hand to wait for the staff that Shang was still holding.

"I wouldn't give you the pleasure."

He knew it wasn't a good idea to back sass a higher ranking soldier, but he couldn't stop the words before they slipped out. Shang on the other hand didn't seem to mind to much, instead only narrowing his gaze as he shoved the hard wood into the boy's chest again.

"Trust me, there are other things I could think of that you could do that would be way more pleasurable."

His response left Ping dumbfounded and slack jawed as Shang shoved passed him, almost jostling the bucket on top of his head to the ground. What was that supposed to mean?

Shaking any unwanted thoughts from his head Ping took his place and fixed the bucket. He felt a little less confident than before, the confusion jumbling up his thoughts to leave for much else. When he stole a glance at Shang though he raised a brow when he saw that the unshakable soldier was pressing a hand to his mouth while his arm was wrapped firmly across his chest. It was almost as if he couldn't believe the words had come out of his mouth either.

Moving his eyes away from that however Ping took in a breath of air at the looks on the others faces. It was obvious that none of them had heard what the two had said to each other, but even if they did Ping highly doubted that they would have cared. Right now it just looked as if they wanted to try and see if it was possible to throw a rock right through someone. These guys really held grudges didn't they?

Letting a breath out Ping readied himself against the on slant that he knew was coming. Just as they began throwing he felt Mushu squirm in place and a claw dig into his side. His body jerked, moving it just enough for the bucket to topple over and spill the water all over him, blinding him from the attacks as he just waved his staff around aimlessly. He felt slightly better when he felt the thud of one of the stones hitting the end of the staff. As he pushed the bucket up from his face he wished he could just hide under it once more upon seeing that the rock had almost hit Shang.

This was just great. So far he was making a laughing stalk of himself.

"Well his could be fun."

Ping found himself agreeing with Chu a little bit as he hopped into the shallow stream and wiggled his toes in the mud. He was already soaked, so this wasn't to bad at all. It reminded him of back home and playing in the pond they had in the back. He would always sneak in there, no matter how many time his grandmother told him not to.

They knew what they were supposed to do. Reach their hands in and pull out a fish. The fish that they caught would be the ones that they were allowed to eat tonight. No fish, no food. It was that simple. Shang had already shown them what they were supposed to do, but Ping found himself a little distracted as he bent down and scooped up the water in his hands.

"Hey Ping."

"Hm?"

Ping had barely turned to face Chu before a wave of water was kicked up in his face. Blinking the water out of his eyes Ping stared owlishly up at Chu. A second later and a smirk came to his face as he reached back in the water and got ready to unleash the wrath of the soaked Ping on him.

"This isn't a time to play you two." Shang's voice cut through the air and Ping sprang up, his spine nearly snapping with how fast he straightened himself out.

Was this guy watching him like a hawk or something? Why did he always seem to come in whenever Ping was doing something stupid?

"Yes sir." Chu said, a frown covering his face as him and Shang stared each other down.

Ping just ignored them, biting down on his lip as he looked in the water for any fish that still might have been around even after their little disruption of the water. When he saw a flash of color move underneath the water he let out a small yip of triumph before his hand shot in the water and yanked it roughly back out.

The smile fell from his face when he saw it was a foot, not a fish, that he had grabbed. Looking into the water he winced upon seeing that the foot he had snatched belonged to none other than Yao himself as the guy blew bubbles from his mouth underneath the fast moving water. Grimacing Ping slowly lowered the foot back down, feeling the eyes of both his friend and his leader on his back.

"Ping."

Holding back a groan at the sound of his name on the others tongue one to many times today Ping waited to hear what he had to say.

"Go to the shore. You're done."

Well that was just great, now he was going to be starving.

As Shang moved away from them Chu reached out and caught the boy's arm, drawing his attention upwards.

"Don't worry, I'll catch some for you." He said, smiling softly at the other as Ping gave him a grateful smile back.

"Thanks."

Normally he wasn't one to accept other peoples kindness, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew how hard it was to do any sort of physical activity on an empty stomach.

Ping was pretty sure that they were insane. As the night was drawing closer he had no idea what to think at this last training exercise for the day. Half of the troops were supposed to run from one end of the clearing to the other end. The other half of the troops were supposed to shoot flaming arrows at them. This had to be crossing some sort of line. Sure Ping himself had been trained how to catch and bloke most weapons by his real father, it had been beaten into him and occasionally he hadn't been able to move fast enough and had been left with some pretty nasty scars. Even his father now had tried to teach him, with much safer methods of cores.

Still, with a bunch of untrained men on both sides of it, Ping just had a feeling that it wasn't going to end well. Not only that but he was slightly afraid for himself seeing as how a majority of the camp seemed to be out for his blood.

He held his breath as Shang made his way down the line, sending people in one direction or the other to do one of the two tasks.

"Chu." Shang said, stopping at the man to Ping's side.

They didn't say anything for a long moment, they just stared at each other long enough to make the other man shift and Ping feel slightly edgy. He had no idea what was with these two but there was just something really off about them both when they got in each others faces. It was almost like they were trying to one up each other or show the other who was the most dominate.

"You'll be running." Shang said, his face completely blank as Chu merely nodded his head.

"Good luck." Ping said, gently nudging his friend with his elbow and receiving a small smile from the much taller male.

"Thank you Ping."

The younger male smiled back, waving to his friend as he jogged off. His smile was quick to dash though when his attention was drawn back to Shang who seemed to be trying to burn a hole in his head with his glare. The staring contest was back it seemed as Ping wondered if Shang was going to send him to run as well just for the fun of it or if because he knew that the boy would probably be killed by the others. If he did Ping couldn't really blame him.

"Shooter."

Shang left it at that as he continued down the line.

Ping just stood there for a moment. He wondered if he'd heard right but when Shang glanced back over at him, his eyes just as sharp if not sharper he quickly scampered off to the arrows.

There was no way that he could screw this one up.

...

"Ping."

Said male dropped the bow he'd been holding as if he'd been burned. He hadn't meant to shoot Yao! Really he hadn't! He'd just lost himself in the moment and thought that he was fighting a real enemy. Before he could open his mouth though the back of his shirt was snatched and he was yanked backwards. Nearly tripping over his feet as he was spun around he hissed as his ankle twisted funny and a sharp pain shot up it.

"Is there any position you're good at?" Shang said, his tone sounding frustrated as he continued to push the boy forward away from the late practice.

"Apparently not." Ping muttered to himself, finding this whole day to be aggravating. Why on earth couldn't he seem to do the simplest of things today? It was as if he was beginning his training all over again.

"You're done for tonight." Shang said as he gave the boy a shove forward once they had passed the tents. "You better do better tomorrow."

Holding back a yelp of pain Ping just stood there was he waited for Shang to disappear from his sight. The moment that he had he let out a soft hiss as he dropped his foot down and wondered just what had he done to his ankle. Whatever it was it couldn't have been good, but he just shrugged it off as he limped back to his tent on the far said. This was probably one of the worst days of his life.


End file.
